I let any further conversation wash over me, and I must have dozed, for the next thing I knew, Maxwell was carrying me into the house. I was curled against his chest. As I stared up at him, his clenched jaw, his determined eyes, I felt overwhelmed with gratitude. Me, who hadn’t needed any help in centuries, save my indifferent servants.
I fell unconscious again.
It sounded like a wolf had charged into the room.
The other boys at my boarding school were screaming as furniture was tossed about the dormitory, slamming into walls and snapping with loud cracks, the remains splintered and useless as they rained to the ground. It was chaos as I scrambled out of my bed, and I was knocked over by another boy who was doing the same. I landed awkwardly with a grunt, but I shook off my discomfort as I tried to understand what was happening. It had been so sudden. One moment, I’d felt the coaxing caress of sleep dragging me steadily under, and the next, the door had exploded inward.
In the pitch black, I couldn’t see a thing, but I heard the animal tearing at the flesh of the boy who’d knocked me down. His blood splattered my face, warm and syrupy as I scrambled along the floor for escape.
I tore out of the room as fast as I could, an oil lamp in the hallway driving back some of the shadows. It also illuminated the man who’d been holding the lamp initially—a teacher who’d made me care about poetry and music. His glasses were broken at his side, sitting silently in the center of a pool of blood that was steadily growing. He seemed to be watching his glasses, but his eyes were cold and dead as marbles.
I shrieked as a boy was thrown out of the room behind me, careening into the opposite wall with a loud crunch that snapped me out of my stupor. I sprinted down the staircase, where another body lay broken in a heap. I didn’t stop to examine who it was. I raced for the front door, but it was bolted shut. The headmaster locked the door at night so we wouldn’t sneak out. I hadn’t a clue where the key might be now.
Pivoting, I made for the drawing room, past another body on the rug, missing its head, with a pistol clutched in its right hand, the barrel twisted upward as if it had been made of clay.
I had to hide, but there were few places to do so. The piano wouldn’t work, nor the desk or table. I could hide behind the curtains, but they would only offer a flimsy barrier against the formidable beast upstairs.
My eyes landed on the fireplace. It was summer, so it was rarely used. I rushed forward and pulled the heavy grate away from the hollow. Wood crunched beneath my weight as I wedged myself into the small space, pulling the grate behind me.
I paused once this was done, realizing the sounds from the second floor had ceased. It was deathly quiet as I peeked through the grate into the dark room beyond. Moonlight shrouded the room in a cold, quiet light, nothing stirring as I hunched in my hiding place, trying to control my breathing so as not to give myself away.
It was a long time before a shadow stretched across the room—the figure of a man, not a wolf. He seemed to glide over the floorboards like an apparition, shadows clinging to him like a second skin, until he stopped at the chair facing the fireplace.
I held my breath, keeping myself as still as possible, as the man lowered himself into the chair and stared straight at the fireplace. His red eyes seemed to meet mine through the grate, as if he could see me in the dark, even though that was impossible.
His lips didn’t move, but I heard him speak nonetheless, his rich, deep voice filling my head.
“I won’t harm you, child. Come out where I can see you.”
His voice was so pleasant and warm. It made me drowsy. I wanted to do as he said. “Come out.”
My mind felt cottony as my hands began to push aside the heavy grate. I wanted to scream for my body to stop, but I felt a strange satisfaction in doing what I’d been told. I scrambled to my feet and wiped the soot from my nightshirt as best I could before I returned my gaze to him.
“That’s better,” the man said, tilting his head to look at me. “Come closer.”
I obeyed, flinching as he grabbed my chin and shifted it from side to side, as if considering a horse he wished to purchase.
“Please,” I managed to eke out as the man’s grip tightened. My hands were shaking, my heart hammering desperately, as if wanting to escape my chest.Run!My mind roared.He’s a monster!But I simply couldn’t move. I was drowning in his eyes, a red haze of intoxication.
“I love when they beg.” The man’s lips curved into a smile. I noticed for the first time how handsome he was, his dark hair shorter than was the current fashion, but curly. It almost looked wet, I thought, before I realized that it was damp with blood.
I swallowed hard, a tear sliding down my cheek. The man’s finger twitched, and I imagined he was about to snap my neck.
The man released me, looking me up and down. “I do like beautiful things. It would be a shame to deprive the world of you.” He tangled his fingers into my hair almost lovingly. “Tell me, boy, what is your name?”
The breath caught in my throat as he tightened his grip on my hair painfully. “Lucian,” I gasped.
“Lucian,” he echoed. His other hand reaching out to graze my lips. “Tell me, Lucian, do you want to live?”
My mouth was dry, so I nodded.
“Very good.” He watched me for a moment, considering, before he lowered his head toward my throat. “Be brave for just a little bit longer and we’ll see what we can do about that.” I winced at the pain that blossomed in my neck. “Such a brave boy.”
I awoke with a start in my bed, blankets piled on top of me. I blinked as I heard birds chirping outside my window, sunlight streaming in.
I must have slept through the night.
I sat up, earning an undignified squawk from Beezle, who blinked slowly up at me before leaping from the bed, deciding that I no longer needed his care.
